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Browsing News Entries

Browsing News Entries

Leading North African prelate reflects on historic papal visit to Algeria (Vatican News)

The president of the North African Conference of Bishops said in an interview that Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Algeria was “a historic event, not only because no Pope had ever come to Algeria before, but above all because it is Pope Leo XIV, an Augustinian Pope, who has come in the footsteps of Augustine.”

Archbishop Nicolas Lhernould of Tunis added, “I experienced a very strong atmosphere of peace, based on the interculturality that characterizes our communities, but with a gentleness and meekness, which radiated from the Holy Father himself, from his way of being and from his words.”

Now is the time to change this country, Pope preaches in Cameroon (CWN)

Pope Leo XIV issued a resounding call for change during an outdoor Mass this afternoon in Bamenda, Cameroon (video).

Vatican diplomat calls for protection of religious and cultural sites in wartime (Vatican News (Italian))

In a wide-ranging address to the UNESCO executive board, a Vatican diplomat spoke of the obligation, in wartime, “to respect and protect cultural property, including places of worship, as expressions of the identity of peoples.”

“Adherence to these norms constitutes an essential legal and moral responsibility, particularly in contexts of conflict,” said Msgr. Roberto Campisi, the Holy See’s Permanent Observer at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

“Always, but particularly in the dramatic circumstances of war, such as those we are currently experiencing, information must be careful not to transform itself into propaganda,” Msgr. Campisi added. “And the mission of journalists—to verify information so as not to become a megaphone for power—becomes even more urgent and delicate; indeed, I would say essential.”

US bishops' doctrine chairman issues clarification on just war theory (USCCB)

The chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine issued a statement on just war theory “In light of recent public comments regarding the Catholic Church’s teaching on war and peace.”

“For over a thousand years, the Catholic Church has taught just war theory and it is that long tradition the Holy Father carefully references in his comments on war,” said Auxiliary Bishop James Massa of Brooklyn. “A constant tenet of that thousand-year tradition is a nation can only legitimately take up the sword ‘in self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed’ (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2308).”

Bishop Massa explained, “That is, to be a just war it must be a defense against another who actively wages war, which is what the Holy Father actually said: ‘He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.’”

“When Pope Leo XIV speaks as supreme pastor of the universal Church, he is not merely offering opinions on theology, he is preaching the Gospel and exercising his ministry as the Vicar of Christ,” Bishop Massa added. “The consistent teaching of the Church is insistent that all people of good will must pray and work toward lasting peace while avoiding the evils and injustices that accompany all wars.”

Vatican spokesman: It is increasingly difficult to claim that a just war exists (Vatican News)

In an editorial entitled “Popes and wars in the contemporary era,” a Vatican spokesman wrote that “as people return to speaking about a ‘just war,’ it is worth recalling the teaching on peace of the Popes who have succeeded one another on the Chair of Peter over the past hundred years.”

“This teaching has gradually been enriched and deepened, to the point of recognizing how increasingly difficult it is to claim that a ‘just war’ exists,” said Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication. He added:

Reflections based on the theology of past centuries and possible justifications for war fail to take into account that when theologians of earlier times wrote about these issues, wars were fought with swords and clubs—not with deadly weapons and machine-guided drones, a reality that raises moral questions of dramatic intensity. There has been a growing awareness that war is not a path to be followed.

Pope hails peacemaking efforts of Christian, Muslim leaders in Cameroon (CWN)

Pope Leo XIV traveled today from Cameroon’s capital of Yaoundé to Bamenda (video), where he praised the efforts of local Christian and Muslim leaders to promote peace amid the Anglophone Crisis, an armed conflict that began in 2017.

Justice Department report confirms selective prosecution of pro-life activists [News Analysis] (CWN)

The US Department of Justice has released a report confirming that during the Biden administration, federal prosecutors “weaponized” their enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinics (FACE) Act, aggressively pursuing pro-life activists while downplaying criminal offenses by abortion supporters.

Apr. 16 Thursday of the Second Week of Easter, Weekday

The Roman Martyrology's commemorations today include:

Lawmaker Calls for Allowing Crucifix Symbol on Veterans’ Headstones

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PHOTOS: Pope Leo XIV Continues Papal Trip in Algeria, Cameroon

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